Willow squeezes Candlefoot's arm in response, nodding. When Vashrin snaps at Kettlesteam, she turns her gaze to him and snaps at him with similar energy. "Kettlesteam has done nothing to deserve your anger, Vashrin. The mood of the carnival isn't going to get any better if you pick a fight with someone who is working to help us."
Vashrin snaps back, obviously still stung from the whole ordeal at the mirror earlier, takes a deep breath and tries to explain, "What do you expect me to make of this? A storyteller is now without a voice and conveniently someone else - who planned a theft in this very carnival - just so happens to have his voice..."
Sam taps Candlefoot's shoulder, feeling he deeply understands the former storyteller. He uses sign language, hoping the clown has had time to learn it.
You How long No Speak.
Kettlesteam is startled and fluffs her feathers at Vashrin's first comment, but when Nuruk and Willow make to defend her, she looks incredibly guilty. Her head droops, and she suddenly becomes very interested in poking a spot on the ground with one of her long, taloned toes.
"You must understand," she said with Candlefoot's voice, "I was trying to cause enough trouble to get their attention. And you may know, my own people are incapable of normal speech, so I may have...borrowed...this one's voice. To make things easier."
Candlefoot looked startled to hear his own voice coming from the avian humanoid. He did not understand Sammy's signed question, but Willow and Karley knew the storyteller had been fine a few days ago, when last they chanced to bump into him. He held out his hands and shrugged in a way that seemed to say, 'What's going on?'
Willow turns her anger to Kettlesteam, blushing with embarrassment. "That's something you should have told us earlier. We share a faith and a common goal, and now I look like a fool for defending you. What else do we need to know, Kettlesteam?"
Noting Willow's embarrassment, Vashrin whispers to her. "There is nothing to be embarrassed about, my friend, you've always had a kind heart. My path has made me...let's say less trusting of others."
"I...can return it. His voice. I think your plan might work, certainly better than mine would have, so there isn't much need for it anymore. Though I will admit, being able to speak so clearly has been an experience I will miss. But I am sorry."
She pulled out a corn husk doll, with a thorny vine wrapped around it's neck. She stared at it for a long, pensive moment. It wasn't difficult to guess how Candlefoot's voice might be returned.
Before she unwrapped the thorns, Kettlesteam looked to all of you and spoke once more. "I am counting on all of you. Make Witch and Light help you. Please. My patron -- our patron," she corrected, glancing to Willow, "needs your help."
She unwound the thorny vines, and a globe of blue magical energy slowly emerged from the little doll's face. It arced through the air towards Candlefoot, who watched it, wide-eyed and uncertain how this was going to work, exactly. He held himself awkwardly still, and the orb of light collided with his throat and melded with him, fading from view. He cleared his throat experimentally a few times before speaking. "Well. That is going to make for quite a story."
Kettlesteam sighed. "Not telling stories any longer," she said in her own voice, exactly repeating words Vash had spoken only a minute earlier. It was odd, having grown used to hearing her speak with the stolen voice -- her own was clearly feminine, but had a hollow sort of quality, as kenku could only mimic things they heard others say and did not have a true voice of their own. "A damned shame."
Nuruk's gentle hand rests on Willow's shoulder as it turns out that Kettlesteam had taken the voice of their dear friend. He gives a reassuring squeeze and nods in line with Vashrin; she was always so kind. It was one of the reasons she went with the carnival, to try and help them all.
"Never blame your trust. It was not you who broke it." The dragonborn says, turning his head to listen to Kettlesteam's explanation. The kenku was doing the best that she could, trying to disrupt the carnival and get the masters' attentions. Without a voice, it would be much harder to do.
"While it was the wrong thing to do, I can respect your reasons. Thank you for returning it." Nuruk says to the kenku, realizing the loss she is about to experience. The orb of magical light flows from the doll and back into Candlelight properly, returning his voice to him once more.
The large man steps closer to the kenku and pats her back with a bit of reassurance before looking back towards Candlefoot.
"It is good to see you back to yourself Candlefoot. I was worried that perhaps the dark forces hidden by merriment had exacted a cost from you." The paladin says with a bit of relief that things have gone alright.
"...being able to speak so clearly has been an experience I will miss."
Sammy shrugs to these words with a sad face.
Hearing Kettlesteam's lament, Vashrin places a hand on Sammy's shoulder. "You know that better than most, don't you. Take heart, we'll get back everything that has been taken from us, including your voice, my friend."
Candlefoot smiles at Nuruk. "I awoke two days ago unable to so much as hum. Wasn't going to be much good as a storyteller if I couldn't tell stories, so here I am in the dark tent that most folks find too creepy to enter. Speaking of which, should somebody look in on that crying chap that ran by?"
After having his ticket punched and with the puzzle of the Voiceless Storyteller seemingly solved, Khalil goes in search of the Heartbroken Halfling.
"Oooh, yeah, we should probably check on him. If anyone isn't going, they can fill you in on why we're here, Candlefoot." Willow gives a small bow from the waist in his direction in lieu of a smile and walks, with Khalil, in the direction she saw the halfling gentlemen go.
If only getting everything lost back was as easy as returning Candlefoot's voice... Vashrin thinks to himself.
"I suppose you're right." the half-elf says to Candlefoot's question. As he responds to Candlefoot, an odd look crosses Vashrin's face, as Karley's audible illusion floats through the air. Shaking his head, he says to the halfling with a smile on his face, "Always something different with you."
After his ticket is punched, Vashrin readjusts his cloak and hood and follows Khalil into the Hall of Illusions. Stopping briefly to look back at the distraught halfling woman, he confirms, "His name is Rubin, right?"
His recollection confirmed he enters the Hall. "Rubin! Come back! She wasn't laughing at you, it was a trick of the mirror!"
Khalil, Willow, and Vashrin disappear through the flap of tent behind Candlefoot, who is currently humming and testing out his voice. Kettlesteam looks askance at Karley. "Something different with you," she declares, then follows the others into the Hall of Illusions, leaving Karley, Nuruk, and Sammy to decide whether or not to follow.
The place is a confusing maze of mirrors. The first you lay eyes upon after entering is not bespelled, but uses a concave curve to make you appear distorted, short and squat like a dwarf. Turning, you see nothing but more mirrors, and more copies of yourself, every which way. Holding your hand out before you to feel for where the mirrors are versus where its safe to walk, you venture into the Hall...
There is a single long hall before you, with mirrors to either side, making it seems as though there are infinite copies of baby you. Beginning to step along the hall, your illusory reflection moves with you. In the second set of mirrors, the baby has become a toddler. Continuing along, your image continues to age. You see yourself as a child, a teen, and finally, as you are now...but the hallway continues ahead.
Entering after Willow, you do not see the tiefling anywhere. But you do see her.The floor, ceiling, and walls are mirrors. No matter where you looks, you catch glimpses. A wisp of her long black hair, sticking out of the cloak. Her hand, lip and grey. Her figure, hidden, but with the neck at an unnatural angle under the concealing fabric. She is all around you. The unicorns told you she was alive, and yet...
Vashrin continues to slowly move through the hall, trying to see or hear the distraught halfling.
Using his ears more than his eyes to try and track down Rubin, Khalil weaves his way through the mirror maze doing his best to avoid looking at any single mirror for more than a moment to avoid getting trapped by any fey trickery.
Willow pauses a few times before her aging reflection. She felt a pang of regret: she was able to see her own growing-up process, but her father missed out on so much. And she had missed out on so much with him. She takes a deep, steadying breath and continues down the hall of mirrors, keeping an eye out for both the missing halfling and any evidence of anything more weird than usual...perhaps related to the disappearances.
"This isn't mere luck that we've return, my friend." Nuruk says with a wide, toothy grin. "We're here to reclaim what we had lost. We have a plan! We'll tell you more when we return." Turning to where the others had departed through, Nuruk follows quickly behind. Let it not be said that the paladin would ever hesitate.
"What would you see?" It asks without preamble or explanation.
"I..I've...got to get out of this place!" Vashrin excitedly states to Khalil. "Should h...have kn..known better..." he continues, practically sobbing as he tries to escape the Hall of Illusions.
Sammy shrugs and follows the others inside. He'll go all the way up to the end to get what he came for.
Nuruk stops for a moment, his brows furrowing as the room is dark except for the lone mirror before him. Carefully, he made his way forward as mists slowly began to coalesce around his feet. The mirror poses him a question and for a moment, Nuruk considers his answer.
"I would see the truth." The dragonborn poses to the mirror, waiting for the response of the magic.
Running into Vashrin, Khalil understand's the half-elf's pain as he glimpses just a few of the many visages of Celeste proliferating around them.
"Hold on." He says quietly while tossing a cloak over the bard's head to block any further site of the mirrors. "I'll guide you out of here. The rest of us should be able to find one halfling. Plus, it might be smart to have someone on the outside in case he slips past us in this blasted maze."
Guiding Vashrin with by the arm, Khalil backtracks along his path to return to the entrance.
Th..thank you, Khalil." Vash manages to mutter, calming a bit as Khalil guides him out of the house of horrors that is the Hall of Illusions.
Never thought I'd make it to old age. Willow thinks wryly, pausing in front of the mirror without a reflection. She looks ahead to the door and passes through.
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Baba Yaga.
Her three horrid daughters.
Her fourth, beautiful one.
And you realize...you know who the Hourglass Coven is.
You move your hand to wave, and many wave back, but out of sync with you -- others don't wave at all. Some don't even look like you, but they are you, all the same. They start walking, beckoning for you to follow them.
Having spent a lot of his spare time alone, Sammy is not new to this head aching and colourful geometrics whirling around.
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"I must tell Kettlesteam and Willow. This is important." Nuruk says, remaining calm but inwardly excited. "Master, am I making you proud? I've already learned so much and it has only been an hour. I'll finish your legacy and cleansed this place of Darkness." The young Dragonborn thinks to himself, searching for a door to continue deeper into the Hall of Illusions.
The pig ghoul girl.
The one who took your voice away.
She is halfway in, halfway out of a mirror up ahead, and is beckoning with one finger to the halfling man, Rubin. He seems entranced, and is moments from following her into the mirror-portal.
Willow and Nuruk emerge back into the entrance of the Hall, nearly running into each other as they do. Candlefoot is there waiting, testing out his voice by humming a series of scales.
Vashrin and Khalil emerge a half minute later.
Emerging back out into the open, Khalil removes the cloak from Vashrin's head, making sure he is pointed away from any reflective surface. He then looks around at the others.
"Did anyone see Rubin?" He asks, wondering if he should go back inside and keep looking for the young halfling.
Nuruk steps out and nearly collides into the lithe frame of Willow, his large hands grabbing her and lifting her rather than maneuvering himself out of the way. While he was blessed by Grace, he was not actually graceful. Setting her down, the golden scales on his cheek darkened slightly and he would look away with a murmur.
"Sorry for that. Master always said I'd trample flowers before I see them." The momentary embarrassment disappears behind the knowledge that he had gained, his brows furrowing as he nodded. "I learned something! I'm not sure how important but it involves Your Lady and the Coven. It-" Before he could finish, the others came stumbling out of the Hall of Illusion and towards him. At Khalil's question, he shook his head slightly.
"I did not. I walked in and discovered some strange mirror. A voice asked me what do I see. I told it that I see the truth...and then it showed me Candlefoot's puppet show from eight years ago..."
Vashrin slumps to the ground, still struggling to regain his composure after subjecting himself to so many mirrors, doing his best to listen to what his friends had discovered within the Hall. "I..if it involves the Coven, I'm sure it is important, Nuruk."
Willow blushes furiously at Nuruk's handling of her, unused to feeling so light and easily maneuvered. "Oh, the puppet show?" She furrows her eyebrows, thinking back on their first meeting with Candlefoot. The play was burned into her brain, much like the rest of the night. "What did you learn?"
Willow backs up a little bit and turns her gaze to Vashrin, a small frown forming on her face. She was worried, but didn't want to voice her concern. Despite knowing why people would laugh or brush her off, it had become rather obvious that it made everyone uncomfortable. She settled for kneeling next to him and squeezing his shoulder gently.
Nuruk crouches down softly, placing a hand on Vashrin's shoulder and squeezing softly. His friend had tried to confront the Darkness and for the moment, was not bright enough alone. It was a faint touch but he hoped he could feel his resolve before he spoke.
"The story told the tale of Baba Yaga and her four daughters; three hideous and one beautiful. Each daughter had a gift; the youngest was the power of the future, the middle the power of the present, and the eldest the power over the past. This fourth daughter was not born of Baba Yaga's blood and stole her secrets. Baba Yaga and her true daughters sought after, hunting her across the sky." Nuruk said, recollecting the puppet show as best as he could. He would wait for any of them to connect the dots before he spoke up.
"A coven of hags, especially powerful ones, could ensnare an powerful fey. Perhaps...the Dreamwalker is the Fourth Daughter. Perhaps the Coven are the daughters of Baba Yaga." Not even Nuruk could feign bravado at the thought. Rumors and myths of the ancient and powerful witch showed her as more of a force of nature than an actual person. If these were her daughter, they would be capable of disgusting power.
"I think we can still win. We can free this place and take back what we lost but...we will need to be cunning. Sheer force of arms will not be enough..."
Willow "hmms" to herself, crossing her arms and thinking back on everything she knows of The Dreamwalker. "If she is the fourth daughter, she's definitely not good friends with the rest of the Coven...and it would make sense that she's been so quiet if the Coven is in her realm." Willow sighs heavily, looking uncomfortable. "This is a lot."
"It is...but it is not insurmountable. We are the difference. We have survived hard lives, learned cunning tricks, fought battles within our souls and with our bare hands. We are not meek children anymore and they do not expect us. If they do, they likely underestimate us." A smile begins to creep across his face as he gives a nod before looking at Candlefoot. "Perhaps it was destiny that that was the story you told us that night? Maybe we're all supposed to be here, here and now. We may be the next chapter of the story."
Vashrin forces a small smile as his friends try to console him.
As Nuruk tells his tale and does his best to bolster the confidence of the Defenders, the half-elf gets back to his feet and puts on a well-rehearsed air of confidence - even if his current act wasn't as convincing as normal.
"Perhaps you are right, Nuruk, maybe we are supposed to be here." Turning to Willow, he adds, "I hope your Dreamwalker is the fourth daughter...we could use the help."
"I just hope I am strong enough to do my part. This test," gesturing back at the Hall of Illusions, "was not a particularly great start, and for that I am sorry, my friends."
Sam sees time passing by in slow motion. He wants to shoot, he wishes it with all his soul.
"No!"
Sadly, as the other million times he's tried, nothing comes out of his mouth.
He runs as quickly as possible, jumping, darting, all in his hands - and feet - to get to the halfling and make him react before it's too late.
Candlefoot listened attentively to the exchange, a small smile forming on his face. "I have told that tale again, and again, and again," he said softly. "Hoping...for what, I'm not sure." He looked all around and spoke even more quietly. "They have a hold on this place. Most do not know about it. I only know because I overheard Witch and Light speaking with one of them, years ago."
Nuruk claps his friend more strongly on the back now in reassurance, rising up along with him. The paladin's grin has grown wider now as he nodded quickly. "I truly believe so. The Light works in strange ways." When he apologized, Nuruk shook his head and grasped his friend by the shoulder once more. "Do not apologize for a misstep. We all have fears that make us stall. Even myself. What is important is we try again and again when we can." Nuruk still had nightmares of frog people covering him, ripping at him, tearing apart the things that made him what he was.
Turning to Candlefoot, he would return the elf's smile and give a nod to him. "Let me tell you friend, they may have a hold on this place but they have made a mistake. They stole from us. We've all waited these eight long years for this night, this opportunity. By the Light, we're going to make it right." Nuruk could only imagine the joy this place could bring if it was free of their clutches. A worthy goal for certain to bring such a place to the multiverse.
Sammy runs full tilt down the mirrored hallway, parkouring over and around the shifting mirrors, using the strange terrain to his benefit and picking up speed.
"Wha-?!" Rubin is snapped out of his trance as pungent dinosaur lard suddenly coats him from a distance at high speed. He loses his balance and falls at the same instant Sammy tackles him. Sammy wraps around the smaller man protectively and uses his momentum to slide them both out of the creepy girl's reach, towards the feet of the now-inivisble Karley
The ghoul-girl-pig brings a large lollipop up to her mouth, and her broken jaw lolls open, an unnaturally long tongue licking the candy in a terrifying sort of way, before she recedes into the mirror portal and disappears from sight.
Now, more than ever, Willow struggled with her inability to smile. Karley tested that throughout the years, but Karley understood Willow enough that the smiles weren't even necessary...plus, the halfling smiled enough for the both of them. She felt like her comfort was inadequate without one, even though the Defenders probably understood it better than anyone she had spent time around in the past eight years.
"I think you get a little bit of leeway with your response, Vash. One doesn't really think about having to train themselves to tolerate horror while walking through hallways of mirrors."
She turns her attention to Kettlesteam. "Kettlesteam, what do you think of this theory of The Dreamwalker being the fourth daughter? I feel like you know more about her than I do..."
Sam stands up just in time to see the girl lick the lollypop and vanish back into the mirror. He helps Rubin back to his feet and shakes off the dirt from his jacket, then gives him a double thumbs up and nods, asking if he's alright.